syncHR Takes Automation To Another Level
Updated November 11, 2015

syncHR Takes Automation To Another Level

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

v5.6

Modules Used

  • Payroll, HR, Benefits, Time & Attendance, Onboarding

Overall Satisfaction with syncHR

We currently use syncHR across our entire business for Payroll, HR, Benefits, Time & Attendance and Onboarding. Having used similar products in the past from ADP, Ceridian and Ultimate software I was extremely impressed with syncHR's technology after the very first demo. As an organization with multiple FEIN's it was important for us to find a system that allowed us to easily report on data across all FEIN's while giving us the ability to create workflows that could also cross FEIN's.

An important factor in our decision to choose syncHR was their ability to effectively date and time stamp every transaction. What is unique about syncHR is how they recognize point in time relationships that overlap, such as payroll and benefits related transactions. By effective dating any transaction regardless of when the transaction is actually being entered into the system we've increased the data integrity throughout the entire solution. When combined with their ability to do automated retro transactions, the system becomes even more powerful.

If you're tired of having to perform manual functions/calculations in a so called "automated system" or have ever experienced discrepancies between payroll and benefit data or simply can't seem to run reports across all data points (HR, Payroll, Benefits) at various moments in time, then syncHR might be your answer. As a single database solution information is never out of sync and real-time reporting is as simple as drag and drop. They even have built in org charts that control security and workflows, all automatically. I wish we would have found syncHR sooner.

  • Automated retroactive change processing and mid-period rate changes – completely automated with no manual intervention needed - If you ever need to give someone a merit increase and make it retroactive or if an employee is entitled to enroll in health benefits on their first day employment but has 30 days to enroll, syncHR will automatically handles these retro changes.
  • A single application designed from the ground up that gives equal weight to HR, payroll, and benefit functions - syncHR is designed as a true unified solution with no back-end mainframes or separate front-ends vs backends. Everything is processed real-time in the cloud which has eliminated all discrepancies.
  • Customer Service - syncHR provides a designated account manager as your single point of contact. Since the The StaffWell Group is a 24/7 business, I needed a company that was available when I needed them. syncHR delivered with 24/7 emergency support.
  • Event-driven employee self service - Other systems we have used rely on employees to make the correct choices as to what is required when completing an employee initiated transaction. With syncHR, the system always directs the employee to the next step reducing both errors and calls to our support staff. I believe this is also the reason why we had a 40% increase in the adoption of ESS.
  • Dynamic Security & Workflows - syncHR has no static pages which allows security and workflows to be updated automatically whenever a change is made. This has virtually eliminated the time and effort required from HR to manually update workflows to the correct personnel.
  • Learning Management System- syncHR currently does not offer an LMS system. They only track and report training dates, licenses and certifications.
  • Although syncHR is a global solution it is somewhat limited to tracking employee headcount, HR documents, paperless on boarding and benefit information. There is no international payroll option like the one they provide for domestic employees. Although the system can handle multiple languages and currencies, I would like to see a global payroll option.
  • Succession Planning - syncHR provides little functionality for succession planning. The system can track budgets vs actuals, goals and ratings but does not offer a true succession planning module
  • Due to complexity of our payroll, it would typically take us almost 3 full days to verify hours and perform retro changes before actually running payroll. With so many retroactive changes and manual calculations it was a time consuming and error prone process. With syncHR, the accuracy of payroll has increased tremendously and the amount of time we now spend preparing to process payroll decreased to less than 4 hours per week. All approved time seamlessly moves from the T&A module into payroll and all retro transactions are automatically processed.
  • When I initially selected syncHR I was a little hesitant because I never heard of them before and was concerned about their viability as a company and customer service. Several years later I'm happy to say that syncHR has provided better support than any of the better know competitors ever did.
  • Although no system is ever perfect, overall syncHR has exceeded most of my expectations. The sales and implementation process was wonderful, the salesperson was responsive and did not oversell what the system could do.
  • Training & Implementation - syncHR spent a considerable amount of time learning my business rules in order to build the system to meet my requirements. Training was provided on all aspects of the system until my team felt comfortable enough to handle things on their own. I never felt as though we had a set number of hours of training or that our questions, no matter how redundant or simple were a bother to them.
As I mentioned I have used UltiPro, ADP, Ceridian as well as several others and none of them seem to offer half of the functionality and service that syncHR provides. Although we had some problems from time to time, I hold companies in high regard by how they resolve these problems. It's a comfort knowing that my HCM provider truly cares about me and my business so if for no other reason than this, I feel syncHR is far and away the best system I have used. The system works as advertised which is all I could ask for.
syncHR is designed for mid to large size companies, typically 200-2000 employees. Any organization that has a strong reporting need and/or a complicated payroll process could benefit from the unique features built into the platform.

syncHR Feature Ratings

Employee demographic data
9
Employment history
10
Job profiles and administration
9
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.
10
Organizational charting
10
Organization and location management
10
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)
8
Pay calculation
10
Benefit plan administration
9
Direct deposit files
10
Salary revision and increment management
10
Reimbursement management
8
Approval workflow
9
Balance details
9
Annual carry-forward and encashment
9
View and generate pay and benefit information
10
Update personal information
10
View job history
9
View company policy documentation
9
Employee recognition
8
Tracking of all physical assets
10
Report builder
10
Pre-built reports
10
Ability to combine HR data with external data
10
Performance plans
9
Performance improvement plans
9
Review status tracking
8
Review reminders
8
Multiple review frequency
8
New hire portal
10
Manager tracking tools
10
Corporate goal setting
9
Individual goal setting
9
Line-of sight-visibility
9
Performance tracking
9
Job Requisition Management
9
Company Website Posting
9
Publish to Social Media
9
Job Search Site Posting
9
Duplicate Candidate Prevention
8
Applicant Tracking
9
Notifications and Alerts
9

Evaluating syncHR and Competitors

Yes - We replaced ADP. Too many discrepancies between payroll and benefits and far too many customer service issues.
  • Price
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
  • Prior Experience with the Product
  • Positive Sales Experience with the Vendor
Functionality - We have a complex process and needed a system that was flexible enough to meet all of our needs. We have employees in 30 states and two countries, we have multiple FEIN's with specific needs for reporting time, tracking PTO, employee schedules, and a desire to eliminate manual calculations whenever possible. SyncHR was able to handle all of these items and then some.
I would not change my process but I wish I had heard about syncHR sooner. I found them by chance via Compare HRIS.

syncHR Implementation

During the first few weeks of implementation it is important to have all key members participate in meetings. Finance, HR, Payroll and Benefits should be involved from the early stages to ensure that the solution is designed to meet your specific requirements. Since syncHR personalizes their solution for each company a few wrong steps early on regarding the design we wanted caused us to spend extra time later. The more info you provide syncHR upfront the better they can take all of your rules and needs into account from day one. In our case, finance did not get involved right away and therefore some of the items that we needed for our GL needed to be re-done. SyncHR was very accommodating though as they spent extra time with us to update some of the allocations so that finance got what they needed.
Change management was a big part of the implementation and was well-handled - SyncHR did a very good job of laying out a plan and discussing best practices. They were able to take our business rules and apply them to the system while still providing us alternatives on how to simply tasks.
  • The only hurdle we needed to overcome was how to get our historical information into syncHR. Since syncHR effective dates and time stamps every transaction and our prior system did not we needed to review some of the historical data we had in order to utilize their ability to go back in time and report on various relationships a person had with either another person, job, project, etc... This took some work so we only imported 3 years of history instead of the 7 years we planned on.

syncHR Training

Training was very well done and thorough

syncHR Support

Whenever we need support our designated account manager is there to provide answers for us. If she doesn't have or know the answer, additional support is provided via a service matter expert in that field. Support hours are 24/7
ProsCons
Quick Resolution
Good followup
Knowledgeable team
Problems get solved
Kept well informed
No escalation required
Immediate help available
Support understands my problem
Support cares about my success
Quick Initial Response
None
No - Support is included with the solution. There is no pay model for additional support
One day last year we had a blackout in our building and payroll needed to be submitted although we were not ready to submit. When I called syncHR they were very supportive and helped me get all of the employees paid on-time.

Using syncHR

Overall the system is very easy to navigate but more importantly my employees find it so easy to use. The percentage of employees who now use ESS went up by 40%.
ProsCons
Like to use
Relatively simple
Easy to use
Technical support not required
Well integrated
Consistent
Quick to learn
Convenient
Feel confident using
Familiar
None
  • Ad-Hoc Reporting Tool
  • Payroll Processing
  • Employee Self-Service
  • The system has so many automated rules built in that I spent the first month looking for how I used to do things only to call support and find out that the system automatically calculated this automatically. I was not used to the level of automation.
Yes - The system is mobile enabled on any device.